ES2828639T3 - Procedures and systems for enhanced round trip time (RTT) exchange - Google Patents

Abstract

A method (550) comprising, in a first wireless transceiver device: transmitting (552) a fine timing measurement request message to a second wireless transceiver device, the fine timing measurement request message comprising at least one field that specifies one or more timing aspects for the transmission of a plurality of fine timing measurement messages in a burst of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission from the second wireless transceiver in response to receipt of the measurement request message fine timing in the second wireless transceiver device, wherein one field of the at least one field specifies a minimum time duration between the transmission of consecutive fine timing measurement messages of the plurality of fine timing measurement messages in said burst of fine timing measurement messages.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Procedures and systems for enhanced round trip time (RTT) exchange

SHORT DESCRIPTION

Countryside:

[0001] The embodiments described herein are aimed at obtaining measurements of signals acquired from a mobile transmitter.

Information:

[0002] Satellite Positioning Systems (SPS), such as Global Positioning System (GPS), have enabled navigation services for mobile phones in outdoor environments. Similarly, particular techniques for obtaining estimates of the positions of mobile devices in indoor environments may enable improved location-based services in particular indoor locations such as residential, government, or commercial locations. For example, a range between a mobile device and a transceiver placed at a fixed location can be measured based, at least in part, on a measurement of a round trip time (RTT) measured between the transmission of a first message from a first device to a second device and a reception of a second message at the first device transmitted in response to the first message.

[0003] Attention is drawn to a work by CARLOS ALDANA (QUALCOMM), "802.11-2012 CID_46_47_48; 11-12-1249-04-000m-802-11-2012-cid-46-47-48", IEEE SA MENTOR; 11-12-1249-04-000M-802-11-2012-CID-46-47-48, IEEE-SA MENTOR, PISCATAWAY, NJ USA, (20130117), vol. 802.11m, # 4, PAGE 1 - 17.

[0004] In accordance with the present invention, wireless transceiver devices and methods are provided, as set forth in the independent claims, respectively. Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Non-limiting and non-exhaustive aspects are described with reference to the following figures, in which like reference numerals indicate like parts in the various figures, unless otherwise specified. FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating certain characteristics of a system containing a mobile device, according to one implementation.

FIG. 2 a diagram illustrating a message flow between wireless stations (STA) according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating at least one timing aspect in relation to message bursts in a message flow between wireless STAs in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing the fields in a fine timing measurement request frame or message according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the fields of an example fine timing measurement request message transmitted by a receiving STA in accordance with an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing fields in a fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame according to one embodiment.

FIGs. 5B to 5E are process flow diagrams for exchanging fine timing measurement request frames and fine timing measurement frames by wireless STAs according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6A a diagram illustrating a message flow between wireless STAs according to another alternative embodiment.

FIGs. 6B and 6C are process flow diagrams for exchanging fine timing measurement request frames and fine timing measurement frames by wireless STAs according to one embodiment.

FIGs. 6D and 6E are process flow diagrams for exchanging measurement request frames. fine timing and fine timing measurement frames by wireless STAs according to one embodiment.

FIGs. 6F and 6G are process flow diagrams for exchanging fine timing measurement request frames and fine timing measurement frames by wireless STAs according to one embodiment.

FIGs. 6H and 6I are process flow diagrams for exchanging fine timing measurement request frames and fine timing measurement frames by wireless STAs according to one embodiment.

FIGs. 6J and 6K are process flow diagrams for exchanging fine timing measurement request frames and fine timing measurement frames by wireless STAs according to one embodiment.

FIGs. 6L and 6M are process flow diagrams for exchanging fine timing measurement request frames and fine timing measurement frames by wireless STAs according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing the fields in a hybrid fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating a message flow between wireless STAs in accordance with another alternate embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a message flow between wireless STAs in accordance with another alternate embodiment.

FIG. 9A a diagram showing the fields of a fine timing round trip time (RTT) feedback frame according to one embodiment.

FIGs. 9B and 9C are process flow diagrams for exchanging an RTT measurement according to one embodiment.

FIGs. 9D and 9E are flow charts for exchanging an RTT measurement according to an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 10A a diagram illustrating a message flow between wireless STAs according to another alternative embodiment.

FIG. 10B is a diagram showing fields in a fine timing measurement request frame according to an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 10C is a diagram showing definitions of values in a trigger field in a fine timing measurement request frame according to one embodiment.

FIG. 10D is a diagram showing definitions of values in a trigger field in a fine timing measurement request frame according to one embodiment.

FIGs. 10E, 10F and 10G are diagrams showing fields in a hybrid fine timing measurement confirmation frame according to an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 10H is a diagram illustrating a message flow between wireless STAs in accordance with another alternate embodiment.

FIG. 10I is a diagram illustrating a message flow in accordance with an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 10J is a diagram illustrating the fields of a fine timing measurement request message in accordance with an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 10K is a diagram showing the definitions of a trigger field according to an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 10L is a diagram showing the fields of a hybrid fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame according to one embodiment.

FIG. 10M is a diagram illustrating the fields of a fine timing measurement request message according to one embodiment.

FIG. 10N is a diagram illustrating a message flow according to one embodiment.

FIG. 10O is a diagram illustrating the fields of a fine timing measurement request message in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 10P is a diagram illustrating the fields of a fine timing measurement request message in accordance with one embodiment.

FIGs. 10Q and 10R are process flow diagrams for exchanging fine timing measurement request frames and fine timing measurement confirmation frames by wireless STAs according to one embodiment.

FIG. 10S is a diagram illustrating the fields that make up the FTM parameters in a fine timing measurement request message in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 10T is a diagram illustrating the fields that make up a fine timing measurement response frame in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 10U is a diagram illustrating the fields that make up a fine timing measurement response frame in accordance with an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 10V is a diagram illustrating at least a subset of fields that make up a fine timing measurement message in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary device in accordance with one implementation.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary computing system in accordance with one implementation.

FIG. 13 shows fields of a fine timing measurement request message including a field for specifying an arrangement for sharing timestamps according to an embodiment. FIG. 14 shows fine timing measurement request message fields including a field for specifying the fine timing measurement channel spacing according to one embodiment. FIGs. 15A and 15B show one-value encoding implementations for fine timing measurement channel spacing in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a message flow diagram illustrating the creation of multiple timestamps in response to a fine timing measurement request message.

FIG. 17 shows fields of a fine timing request message confirmation according to one embodiment.

FIG. 18 shows an example format for values to be provided in a pressure field of a fine timing measurement request message in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 19 shows fields for a fine timing measurement message according to an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 20 shows a format for fields that can be implemented in a frame or message from the first STA to a second STA to advertise a desired configuration in accordance with one embodiment. BRIEF EXPLANATION

[0006] In summary, the particular implementations are directed to a method that comprises, in a first wireless transceiver device: transmitting a fine timing measurement request message to a second wireless transceiver device, the timing measurement request message comprising fine at least one field specifying one or more aspects for the transmission of a plurality of fine timing measurement messages in a burst of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission from the second wireless transceiver in response to receipt of the message fine timing measurement request on the second wireless transceiver device.

[0007] Another particular implementation is directed to a first wireless transceiver device comprising: a transceiver for transmitting messages and receiving messages from a wireless communication network; and one or more processors for initiating transmission of a fine timing measurement request message through the transceiver to a second wireless transceiver device, the fine timing measurement request message comprising at least one field specifying one or more aspects for transmitting a plurality of fine timing measurement messages in a burst of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission from the second wireless transceiver in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message at the second device wireless transceiver.

[0008] Another particular implementation is directed to an article comprising: a non-transient storage medium comprising machine-readable instructions stored therein that are executable by a special purpose computing apparatus of a first wireless transceiver device to: initiate the transmitting a fine timing measurement request message to a second wireless transceiver device, the fine timing measurement request message comprising at least one field specifying one or more aspects for the transmission of a plurality of timing measurement messages fine in a burst of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission from the second wireless transceiver in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message at the second wireless transceiver device.

[0009] Another particular implementation is directed to a first wireless transceiver device comprising: means for transmitting a fine timing measurement request message to a second wireless transceiver device, the fine timing measurement request message comprising at least one field specifying one or more aspects for the transmission of a plurality of fine timing measurement messages in a burst of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission from the second wireless transceiver in response to receipt of the measurement request message. fine timing on the second wireless transceiver device; and means for receiving from the second transceiver device one or more fine timing measurement request frames transmitted based, at least in part, at least one field.

Another particular implementation is directed to a method that comprises, in a first wireless transceiver device: receiving a fine timing measurement request message from a second wireless transceiver device, the fine timing measurement request message comprising at least a field specifying one or more aspects for the transmission of a plurality of fine timing measurement messages in a burst of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission; and in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message, transmitting one or more bursts of fine timing measurement messages to the second wireless transceiver device based, at least in part, on at least one field.

[0011] Another particular implementation is directed to a first wireless transceiver device comprising: a transceiver for transmitting messages and receiving messages from a wireless communication network; and one or more processors for: obtaining a fine timing measurement request message received at the transceiver from a second wireless transceiver device, the fine timing measurement request message comprising at least one field specifying one or more aspects for the transmitting a plurality of fine timing measurement messages in a burst of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission; and in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message, initiating transmission of one or more bursts of fine timing measurement messages through the transceiver to the second wireless transceiver device based, at least in part, upon the minus one field.

[0012] Another particular implementation is directed to an article comprising: a non-transient storage medium comprising machine-readable instructions stored therein that are executable by a special purpose computing apparatus of a first wireless transceiver device to: obtain a fine timing measurement request message received at the wireless transceiver device from a second wireless transceiver device, the fine timing measurement request message comprising at least one field specifying one or more aspects for the transmission of a plurality of timing messages. fine timing measurement in a burst of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission; and in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message, initiating transmission of one or more bursts of fine timing measurement messages to the second wireless transceiver device based, at least in part, on at least one field.

Another particular implementation is directed to a first wireless transceiver device comprising: means for receiving a fine timing measurement request message from a second wireless transceiver device, the fine timing measurement request message comprising at least one field specifying one or more aspects for the transmission of a plurality of fine timing measurement messages in a burst of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission; and means for transmitting one or more bursts of fine timing measurement messages to the second wireless transceiver device in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message based on, at least in part, at least one field.

[0014] It should be understood that the aforementioned implementations are merely example implementations, and that the subject matter claimed is not necessarily limited to any particular aspect of these example implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] As discussed below, particular message flows can allow effective and efficient measurements of a round trip time (RTT) in relation to a transmission of messages between wireless stations (STA). In a particular example, an STA may comprise any one of several types of transceiver devices such as, for example, a mobile user station (for example, a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet computer, etc.) or a wireless service access device (for example, wireless local area network (WLAN) access point, personal area network (PAN), or femtocell). Particular message flows and fields in message frames can allow RTT measurements to be obtained with sufficient precision to measure a range among wireless STAs that use fewer messages, for example. Such a measured range can be used in any one of several applications including positioning operations, for example.

[0016] In certain implementations, as shown in FIG. 1, a mobile device 100 can receive or acquire satellite positioning system (SPS) signals 159 from the SPS satellites 160. In some embodiments, the SPS 160 satellites can be from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as GPS or Galileo satellite systems. In other embodiments, the SPS satellites can be multiple GNSS satellites such as, but not limited to, GPS, Galileo, Glonass, or Beidou (Compass) satellite systems. In other embodiments, the SPS satellites can be from any of several Regional Navigation Satellite Systems (RNSS ') such as, for example, Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS ), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), just to name a few examples.

Furthermore, mobile device 100 can transmit radio signals to, and receive radio signals from, a wireless communication network. In one example, mobile device 100 can communicate with a cellular communication network by transmitting wireless signals to, or receiving wireless signals from, base station transceiver 110 through wireless communication link 123. Similarly, mobile device 100 It can transmit wireless signals to or receive wireless signals from the local transceiver 115 through the wireless communication link 125.

In a particular implementation, the local transceiver 115 can be configured to communicate with the mobile device 100 in a shorter range through the wireless communication link 125 than in a range enabled by the base station transceiver 110 through the link. wireless communication interface 123. For example, the local transceiver 115 can be placed in an indoor environment. The local transceiver 115 can provide access to a wireless local area network (WLAN, eg, IEEE 802.11 standard network) or wireless personal area network (WPAN, eg, Bluetooth network). In another exemplary implementation, the local transceiver 115 may comprise a femtocellular transceiver capable of facilitating communication on the wireless communication link 125 in accordance with a cellular communication protocol. Of course, it should be understood that these are simply examples of networks that can communicate with a mobile device over a wireless link, and the claimed subject is not limited in this regard.

In a particular implementation, the base station transceiver 110 and the local transceiver 115 can communicate with the servers 140, 150 and / or 155 through a network 130 through links 145. Here, the network 130 can comprise any combination of wired or wireless links. In a particular implementation, network 130 may comprise an Internet Protocol (IP) infrastructure capable of facilitating communication between mobile device 100 and servers 140, 150, or 155 through local transceiver 115 or base station transceiver 110. In another implementation, network 130 may comprise a cellular communication network infrastructure such as, for example, a base station controller or master switching center (not shown) to facilitate mobile cellular communication with mobile device 100.

In a particular implementation, mobile device 100 may be able to calculate a position fix based, at least in part, on signals acquired from local transmitters (eg, WLAN access points located at known locations). For example, mobile devices can obtain a position fix by measuring ranges to three or more indoor terrestrial wireless access points that are positioned at known locations. Said ranges can be measured, for example, obtaining a MAC ID address from signals received from said access points and obtaining range measurements to the access points by measuring one or more characteristics of signals received from such access points such as, by example, received signal strength (RSSI) or round trip time (RTT). In alternative implementations, mobile device 100 can obtain an interior position fix by applying acquired signal characteristics to a radio heat map indicating expected RSSI and / or RTT signatures at particular locations in an interior area. On particular implementations, a radio heat map may associate identities of local transmitters (e.g. a MAC address discernible from a signal acquired from a local transmitter), expected RSSI of signals transmitted by identified local transmitters, an expected RTT of transmitters identified, and possibly standard deviations from these expected RSSI or RTT. It should be understood, however, that these are merely examples of values that can be stored in a radio heat map, and that the claimed subject is not limited in this regard.

[0021] In particular implementations, mobile device 100 may receive positioning assistance data for indoor positioning operations from servers 140, 150, or 155. For example, such positioning assistance data may include locations and identities of positioned transmitters. at known locations to allow measurement ranges for these transmitters based, at least in part, on a measured RSSI and / or RTT, for example. Other positioning assist data to facilitate indoor positioning operations may include radio heat maps, magnetic heat maps, transmitter identities and locations, route charts, just to name a few examples.

[0022] In a particular implementation, particular message flows can be implemented between wireless STAs to obtain a measurement of RTT between STAs for use in positioning operations as discussed above. In particular implementations, as described below, any STA may comprise a mobile device (for example, a mobile device 100) or a stationary transceiver (for example, an IEEE 802.11 standard access point, a stationary Bluetooth device, a local transceiver 115, etc.). As such, a message exchange between wireless STAs may comprise a message exchange between a mobile device and a stationary transceiver, between two of the same mobile devices, or between two stationary transceivers, just to give a few examples. In particular implementations, various techniques described in this document may incorporate some, but not necessarily all, aspects or characteristics of the IEEE 802.11 standard for information technology-Telecommunications and information exchange between systems, local and metropolitan area networks-Requirements. Specifics Part 11: Wireless LAN Physical Layer (PHY) and Medium Access Control (MAC), February 6, 2012, section 10.23.5 (hereinafter "IEEE 802.11 standard"). In fact, it should be understood that some features described herein are not shown, described, or taught in the IEEE standard. 802.11.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a message flow between wireless stations STA that includes a "send" STA and a "receive" STA in accordance with one embodiment. In this context, a sending STA or a receiving STA may comprise any one of several transceiver devices including a mobile device (eg, a mobile device 100) or a stationary access transceiver device (eg, a local transceiver 115). A receiving STA may obtain or calculate one or more RTT measurements based, at least in part, on the timing of messages or frames transmitted between the receiving STA and a sending STA. As used herein, the terms "message" and "frame" are used interchangeably. The receiving STA may transmit a fine timing measurement request ("Request") message or frame to the sending STA and receive a fine timing request ("Ack") confirmation message or frame transmitted in response. In a particular implementation, although the claimed subject is not limited in this regard, the content of said fine timing measurement request message may be as shown in the IEEE standard. 802.11 in section 8.6.8.25. In particular implementations, such an Ack frame may simply provide an indication of receipt of a previously transmitted message. The receiving STA may then obtain or calculate an RTT measurement based, at least in part, on timestamp values (t1, t4) provided in fine timing ("M") measurement messages or frames received from the station STA. send (and transmitted in response to receipt of a fine timing measurement request message). In a particular implementation, as shown in the message flow diagram, a sequence of multiple exchanges of alternating fine timing measurement messages followed by fine timing measurement confirmation messages can create additional timestamp values (t1, t2, t3 and t4).

In a particular implementation, although the claimed subject is not limited in this regard, the content of said message or fine timing measurement frame may be as shown in the IEEE standard. 802.11 in section 8.6.8.26. In an example implementation, a receiving STA can calculate an RTT measurement as (t4 - t1) - (t3 - t2), where t2 and t3 are the time of receiving a previous fine timing measurement message or frame and transmitting from a previous confirmation message or frame, respectively. The receiving STA may transmit a series of fine timing measurement request messages in one burst to obtain a corresponding number of RTT measurements that can be combined to eliminate measurement noise by calculating a range between the receiving and sending STAs.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating at least one timing aspect in relation to message bursts in a message flow between wireless STAs in accordance with one embodiment. As shown, multiple pairs of message frames or fine timing measurement frames and the corresponding confirmation message or frame (for example, in response to a single fine timing measurement request message transmitted by a Receiving and receiving STA on a sending STA) In one aspect, a Min_delta_FTM parameter may specify a minimum time between starts of consecutive frame pairs ("fine timing measurement frame pairs") where a start of a frame pair may be marked by transmission of the corresponding fine timing measurement message of the pair from a sending STA. In another aspect, a number of frame pairs per burst may be defined by a "Frames per burst" parameter. Here, a pair of frames in a burst may comprise a fine timing measurement message transmitted by a sending STA followed by an acknowledgment message transmitted by a receiving STA in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement message.

[0026] FIG. 4A shows the fields of an example fine timing measurement request message transmitted by a receiving STA in accordance with one embodiment. In addition to the Category, Action and Trigger fields as established in the IEEE 802.11 standard, the Min_delta_FTM, Timeout, T branches per burst and / or Burst Period fields can be defined. Here, a value of two for the Trigger field may indicate that the receiving STA can send an RTT measurement back to the sending STA (for example, after the transmission of one or more fine timing measurement messages to the STA recipient). Here, the receiving STA can calculate RTT based on the techniques described above in connection with FIG. 2. The sending STA can now benefit from the RTT measurement (or range based on the RTT measurement) obtained and calculated at the receiving STA. A value of four for the Trigger field may indicate that the receiving STA may contain short inter-frame space burst techniques (SIFS). A value for the Min_delta_FTM field may indicate a minimum time (eg, in units of ps) between consecutive fine timing measurement messages or frames as noted above. The field timeout may indicate a period of time (for example, in units of ps) from the transmission of an initial fine timing measurement request frame from a receiving STA until the receiving STA receives a first measurement frame. fine timing in response to the initial fine timing measurement request frame.

As noted above, a Frames per Burst field can indicate how many pairs of frames are to be transmitted in a given burst. A field burst period can indicate how often a burst of measurements should occur (for example, in units of 100 ms or target beacon transmission time (TBTT)) where a small value can be applied to indicate a relative motion environment common between the sending and receiving STAs, while a large value may be applicable to a relatively stationary environment.

[0028] FIG. 4B shows fields from an example fine timing request message transmitted by a receiving STA in accordance with an alternative embodiment. Here, an eight-bit "Frame per Burst" can be replaced by a "Deviation" field that can be used to specify a time deviation or length of time that a timing measurement exchange should begin after transmission of the request message. fine timing measurement. In a particular implementation, the sixteen-bit field "Burst Period" can specify how often burst measurements should be performed. In a particular embodiment, a value for "Burst Period" can be expressed in 100 ms or in TBTT. A small value may be applicable to a relatively dynamic environment, while a larger value may be applicable to a relatively static environment. In one example, a value of 216-1 in the "Burst Period" field can specify that a single burst has to occur and a value of zero in the "Burst Period" field can specify that an undefined number has to occur or infinity of bursts.

[0029] FIG. 5A is a diagram showing fields in a fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame to be transmitted in response to a fine timing measurement request message or frame, such as an implementation of a fine timing request message or frame. fine timing measurement shown in FIG. 4A, according to one embodiment. In a particular implementation example, the values for the Trigger field in the confirmation frame of the timing measurement request message of FIG. 5A may indicate an acceptance, rejection or modification of a request set in a Trigger field of a corresponding fine timing measurement request. Here, in a particular implementation, the Trigger field in the timing measurement confirmation frame of FIG. 5A can indicate the following:

0: Initial rejection

1: OK (default behavior)

3: OK send RTT

5: OK SIFS bursts

7: OK send RTT bursts SIFS

[0030] Similarly, the values for the Min_delta_FTM OK field of the timing measurement confirmation frame of FIG. 5A may indicate an acceptance, rejection or modification of a parameter set in a Min_delta_FTM field of a corresponding fine timing measurement request message or frame. Here, in a particular implementation, the OK Min_delta_FTM field of a fine timing measurement confirmation frame may indicate the following:

1: Min_delta_FTM indicated in a request message is acceptable

0: invite to select a larger Min_delta_FTM

The values for frames per field burst of the fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame of FIG. 5A can indicate a number of frames that a sending STA can send in a given burst. The values for the Burst_Period OK field of the timing measurement confirmation frame of FIG. 5A may indicate an acceptance, rejection or modification of a Burst Period parameter set in a corresponding fine timing measurement request frame. The values for Burst_Period OK can indicate the following:

1: Burst_Period is acceptable

0: Invitation to select a larger Burst_Period

[0032] In the particular implementation described in relation to FIGS: 4A and 5A, the values or parameters shown in FIG. 5A can be transmitted from a sending STA to a receiving STA in a fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame. The receiving STA can then apply one or more of the values or parameters shown in FIG. 5A in the RTT estimate. In an alternative implementation, the values or parameters shown in FIG. 5A can be transmitted from a sending STA to a receiving STA as part of a subsequent fine timing measurement message (eg, including measured values for t1 or t4). The receiving STA can then apply said received values or parameters in the subsequent fine timing measurement message to calculate an RTT measurement as described above.

[0033] As discussed below in particular exemplary embodiments, a fine timing measurement request message transmitted from a receiving STA to a sending STA may specify one or more aspects of how the receiving STA would desire the performance. transmitting fine timing measurement messages to the receiving STA in response to the fine timing measurement request message. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, at block 552, a receiving STA may transmit a fine timing measurement request message to a sending STA. The transmitted fine timing measurement request message may comprise at least one field specifying one or more aspects for the transmission of a plurality of fine timing measurement messages in a burst of fine timing measurement messages to be transmitted from an STA in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message. As discussed below in relation to particular implementations, such aspects for transmitting a plurality of fine timing measurement messages in one burst may comprise, for example, the number of fine timing measurements to be transmitted in one burst (e.g. For example, "Frames per Burst"), a maximum allowable time between the transmission of a fine timing measurement request message at the receiving STA and the receipt of a sensitive fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame (e.g. for example, "Timeout"), minimum time between consecutive fine timing measurement messages or frames (for example, "Min_delta_T"), burst duration (for example, "Burst Period"), or a period of time between receiving a fine timing measurement request message at a sending STA and transmitting from the sending STA a fine timing measurement message ini cial (for example, "Deviation"). It should be understood, however, that these are merely examples of aspects for the transmission of a plurality of fine timing measurement messages in one burst, and the claimed subject is not limited in this respect.

According to one embodiment, a fine timing measurement request message transmitted at block 552 may be received at a send STA as shown at block 564 of FIG. 5C. The sending STA may then transmit one or more fine timing measurement frames to the receiving STA at block 566 in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message. The receiving STA may then receive a fine timing measurement frame transmitted at block 566 at block 554. Here, one or more fine timing measurement messages received at block 554 may have been transmitted at block 566 based on, at least in part, at one or more values in a fine timing measurement request message transmitted at block 552.

Also as discussed below in particular exemplary embodiments, a fine timing measurement request message transmitted from a receiving STA to a sending STA may specify at least one physical signal characteristic of signal messages. fine timing measurement to be transmitted in response to the fine timing measurement request message. Such physical signal characteristics can include, for example, particular frequency channels, signal coding, transmit power levels, signal polarity, signal phase, channel separation (or channel spacing), just to give a few examples. At block 572 of FIG. 5D, for example, a receiving STA may transmit a fine timing measurement request frame comprising at least one field that specifies at least one physical signal characteristic of one or more fine timing measurement messages to be transmitted by an STA send in response to the fine timing measurement request message. The fine timing measurement request frame transmitted at block 572 may then be received at a send STA at block 582 of FIG. 5E and processed accordingly. In response to receipt of the measurement request message fine timing received by the sending STA at block 582, the sending STA may transmit one or more fine timing measurement frames for reception by the receiving STA at block 574.

[0036] FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a message flow between wireless STAs in accordance with another alternate embodiment in which a receiving STA transmits a fine timing measurement request message. A sending STA transmits a fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame ("fine timing measurement ACK") in response to the fine timing measurement request message that incorporates one or more aspects of the timing request message. fine timing measurement shown in FIG 4a. A field timeout value is displayed as a maximum time allowed between the transmission of a fine timing measurement request message at the receiving STA and the receipt of a sensitive fine timing measurement message confirmation frame at the Receiving STA.

[0037] FIGs. 6B and 6C set out the actions that can be taken by a receiving STA and a sending STA, respectively, in accordance with an implementation of the message flow shown in FIG. 6A. At block 652, a receiving STA may wirelessly transmit a fine timing measurement request message or frame to a sending STA. The fine timing measurement request message or frame may comprise one or more values defining a minimum time between consecutive fine timing measurement frames to be transmitted by the sending STA in response. This can be specified, for example, by a value in the Min_delta_FTM field as set out in FIG. 4A. In other implementations, the fine timing measurement request frame or message may specify one or more values for Trigger, Timeout, Field Frames Per Burst, just to give a few examples. In response to the fine timing measurement request message or frame transmitted in block 652, in block 654 the receiving STA may wirelessly receive one or more transmitted fine timing measurement messages or frames based, at least in part, on in the one or more values defining a minimum time between consecutive fine timing measurement frames from a sending STA. The receiving STA may then calculate a measurement of r Tt based, at least in part, on the received fine timing measurement frames.

In block 662, a sending STA may receive a fine timing measurement request frame transmitted by a receiving STA in block 652 and, in response, transmit a fine timing measurement frame to the receiving STA in block 664. As indicated above in a particular example, the fine timing measurement request frame may comprise one or more values specifying at least a minimum time between consecutive transmissions of fine timing measurement messages. In one example, the fine timing measurement frame transmitted in block 664 may be transmitted based, at least in part, on the parameters specified in the received fine timing measurement request frame. In an alternative implementation, the measurements can be combined with values or parameters shown in FIG. 5 and transmitted by a send STA in a fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame.

[0039] FIGs. 6D and 6E establish actions that can be taken by a receiving STA and a sending STA, respectively, according to a field implementation of the fine timing measurement request message shown in FIG. 4B. At block 672, a receiving STA may transmit a fine timing measurement request message to a sending STA that comprises at least one field that specifies a time offset, such as the Offset field shown in FIG. 4B. The specified time deviation may specify a length of time between the receipt of a fine timing measurement request message at a sending STA and the transmission from the sending s Ta of an initial fine timing measurement message (from a plurality of fine timing measurements in a burst) from the sending STA in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message. At block 674, the receiving STA may receive one or more fine timing measurement messages from the sending STA based, at least in part, on a value in the field that specifies the time offset.

In block 682, a sending STA may receive a fine timing measurement request message from a receiving STA such as a fine timing measurement request message transmitted in block 672 (eg, comprising the minus one field specifying a time offset for transmission of an initial fine timing measurement message out of a plurality of fine timing measurement messages to be transmitted). At block 684, the sending STA may transmit to the receiving STA at least one fine timing measurement frame in response to the fine timing measurement request frame.

[0041] FIGs. 6F and 6G establish actions that can be taken by a receiving STA and a sending STA, respectively, according to a field implementation of the fine timing measurement request message shown in FIGs. 4A and 4B. At block 692, a receiving STA may transmit a fine timing measurement request message to a sending STA comprising at least one field specifying a requested number of fine timing measurement messages to be transmitted in a burst of timing messages. fine timing measurement (eg, "Frames per burst" in FIGS. 4A and 4B) in response to the fine timing measurement request message. At block 694, the receiving STA may receive from the sending STA one or more fine timing measurement messages based, at least in part, on a value in the field that specifies the requested number of fine timing measurements to be transmitted. in the gust.

In block 702, a sending STA may receive a fine timing measurement request message such as the fine timing measurement request message transmitted by a receiving STA in block 692 (eg, including one or more fields specifying a requested number of fine timing measurement messages to be transmitted in a response to the fine timing measurement request message). In block 704, the sending STA may transmit at least one fine timing measurement frame to the receiving STA based, at least in part, on a value in the received fine timing measurement request message that specifies the requested number. of fine timing measurements to be transmitted in a burst of fine timing measurement messages.

In a particular implementation, a sending STA may provide multiple bursts of fine timing measurements to a receiving STA in response to a single fine timing measurement request message. FIGs. 6H and 6I set out the actions that a receiving STA and a sending STA can take, respectively, according to an implementation of the fields of the fine timing measurement request message shown in FIGs. 4A and 4B. At block 712, a receiving STA may transmit a fine timing measurement request message to a sending STA comprising at least one field specifying a requested time period between initial fine timing measurement messages of consecutive bursts of the fine timing measurement messages (eg "Burst Period"). At block 724, the sending STA may transmit at least one fine timing measurement frame to the receiving STA based, at least in part, on a value in the received fine timing measurement request message that specifies the time period. requested time.

In block 722, a sending STA may receive a fine timing measurement request message such as the fine timing measurement request message transmitted by a receiving STA in block 712 (eg, including the minus one field specifying a requested time period between initial fine timing measurement messages of consecutive bursts of fine timing measurement messages). At block 724, the sending STA may transmit at least one fine timing measurement frame to the receiving STA based, at least in part, on a value in the received fine timing measurement request message that specifies the time period. requested time between initial fine timing measurement messages of consecutive bursts of fine timing measurement messages.

[0045] FIGs. 6J and 6K establish actions that can be taken by a receiving STA and a sending STA, respectively, according to an implementation of fields of a fine timing measurement request message such as a fine timing measurement request message as shown in FIGs.

4A and 4B. In block 732, a receiving STA may transmit a fine timing measurement request message to a sending STA comprising at least one field that specifies a maximum time between transmission of the fine timing measurement request message and receipt. of a fine timing measurement message confirmation frame. Receiving STA (such as the "Timeout" field in FIGS. 4A or 4B). Such a value that specifies a maximum time can also be illustrated as a "Timeout" field. At block 734, the receiving STA may receive a fine timing measurement message from the sending STA based, at least in part, on the field that specifies the maximum time between transmission of the fine timing measurement request message and receiving a fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame.

In block 742, a sending STA may receive a fine timing measurement request message as the fine timing measurement request message transmitted in block 732 (eg, including at least one field that specifies a maximum time between transmission of the fine timing measurement request message and receipt of a fine timing measurement message confirmation frame at the receiving STA). At block 744, the sending STA may transmit a fine timing measurement message to the receiving STA in response to the receipt of the fine timing measurement request frame received at block 742.

[0047] FIGs. 6L and 6M establish actions that can be taken by a receiving STA and a sending STA, respectively, according to a field implementation of the fine timing measurement request message shown in FIGs. 4A and 4B. At block 772, a receiving STA may transmit a fine timing measurement request message to a sending STA comprising at least one field specifying a minimum time duration between transmission of consecutive fine timing measurement messages to be transmitted. in response to the fine timing measurement request message (for example, as a value for Min_delta_T or Min_delta_FTM). At block 774, the receiving STA may receive one or more fine timing measurement frames from the sending STA based, at least in part, on the specified minimum time duration between consecutive fine timing measurement messages.

In block 782, a sending STA may receive a fine timing measurement request message such as a fine timing measurement request message transmitted in block 772 (eg, including at least one field that specifies a minimum time duration between transmission of consecutive fine timing measurement messages to be transmitted in response to the fine timing measurement request message). At block 784, the sending STA may then transmit at least one timing measurement message. fine to the receiving STA in response to receipt of a fine timing measurement request message at block 782.

[0049] The processes described above with reference to FIGs. 6B through 6M are directed to the transmission of a fine timing measurement request message from a receiving STA to a sending STA, followed by the transmission of one or more fine timing measurement messages from the sending STA in response to receiving the fine timing measurement request message. In other implementations, a sending STA may transmit a fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame such as that shown in FIG. 5A to indicate, for example, whether the sending STA is capable of providing fine timing measurement messages as specified in the fields of the received fine timing measurement request message.

[0050] FIG. 7A is a diagram showing fields in a hybrid fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame according to an alternative embodiment including a time of arrival field TOA and a time of departure field TOD (which may be transmitted in place of a fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame as shown in FIG. 5A). Using values for the TOA and / or TOD fields received in a hybrid fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame, a receiving STA can compute RTT (or computed RTT-based range). Here, one or more aspects of a fine timing measurement confirmation message shown in FIG 5A may be combined with a fine timing measurement message so that one less message can be transmitted from the sending STA to the receiving STA for obtain an initial RTT measurement in a burst as illustrated in the message flow of FIG. 7B.

[0051] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a message flow in which a receiving STA can provide or feed back an RTT measurement to a sending STA. An example of fields from a fine timing RTT feedback message is shown in FIG. 9A. As noted above, a receiving STA may calculate an RTT measurement based, at least in part, on timestamp values (t1, t4) provided in fine timing measurement messages or frames received from the sending STA. Here, a calculated RTT measurement (or range calculated from RTT) in a fine-timed RTT feedback message received at a sending STA can be used by the sending STA to calculate or determine a range between receiving STAs. and shipping.

[0052] FIGs. 9B and 9C set out the actions that can be taken by a receiving STA and a sending STA, respectively, in accordance with an implementation of the message flow shown in FIG. 8. At block 902, a receiving STA may wirelessly transmit a fine timing measurement request message or frame to a sending STA. A sending STA may receive the fine timing measurement request message or frame transmitted in block 932 and wirelessly transmitting to the receiving STA one or more fine timing measurement messages containing timing measurements (e.g., t1 and t4 ) at block 934 in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request frame at block 932. The fine timing measurement messages comprising timing measurements transmitted at block 934 (and in response to the fine timing measurement request transmitted in block 902) may be received at a receiving STA in block 904. The receiving STA may then calculate a signal RTT measurement in block 906 based, at least in part, on timing received at block 904 using the techniques discussed above. The receiving STA can then wirelessly transmit the RTT measurement calculated at block 906 to the sending STA at block 908 (eg, in a fine-timed RTT feedback message as shown in FIG. 9A). for use by the sending STA in positioning operations, for example. In block 936, the sending STA may receive one or more messages comprising the RTT measurement transmitted in block 908 (and calculated based, at least in part, on timing measurements transmitted in block 934) for use in positioning operations on the sending STA. In an alternative implementation, a receiving STA at block 902 may transmit a fine timing measurement request frame that specifies parameters other than those provided in the fields shown in FIG. 4A. For example, a timeout period can be specified in a Timeout field and a Trigger field can specify SIFS to set a fixed delay on the send STA when transmitting a fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame to the receiving a fine timing measurement request frame (eg, as shown in the message flow diagram of FIG.

10A), or upon receipt of a confirmation frame from the receiving STA in the course of a burst of fine timing measurement messages. FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating an example message flow that also includes a fine-timed RTT feedback message that provides a send STA with a calculated RTT measurement (eg, as transmitted at block 908).

[0053] FIGs. 9D and 9E set out the actions that a receiving STA and a sending STA can take, respectively, according to an implementation of the message flow shown in FIG. 10A. At block 952, a receiving STA may transmit a fine timing measurement request message to a sending STA that includes at least one field that specifies a previously calculated RTT measurement based, at least in part, on a prior exchange of data. messages between the receiving and sending STAs. The receiving STA may later receive a fine timing measurement at block 954 that was transmitted by the send s Ta in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message.

In block 962, a sending STA may receive a fine timing measurement request message such as a fine timing measurement request message transmitted in block 962 (including at least one field that specifies the RTT previously calculated). Here, the sending STA may extract from a field in the received fine timing measurement request message an RTT measurement that was calculated at the receiving STA based, at least in part, on a previous exchange of messages between the receiving STAs. shipping and receiving. At block 964, the sending STA may then transmit a fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame to the receiving STA in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message at block 962.

[0055] FIG. 10B is a diagram showing fields in a fine timing measurement request frame according to an alternative embodiment. The values for the fields "Category", "Action", "Trigger", "Min delta T", "Timeout", "Frames per burst" and "Burst period" can have the same meaning and effect as the fields with similar names in the fine timing measurement request frame of FIG.

4A. The particular alternative embodiment of FIG. 10B, however, includes the additional fields "Deviation", "Previous RTT Value" and "Channel". Alternative implementations can implement one, two, or all three of these additional fields without deviating from the claimed topic.

[0056] The "Deviation" field can specify a requested time deviation at the beginning of the transmission of a fine timing measurement message from a set time (for example, after receipt of the measurement request frame fine timing). In a particular scenario, a single receiving STA may transmit fine timing measurement request frames to multiple different sending STAs. Specifying different values for a "Deviation" field in different fine timing measurement request frames can be useful, for example, to prevent fine timing measurement request message confirmation frames or timing measurement frames fine are transmitted from the multiple sending stations to the single receiving STA. In a particular implementation, a value for the "Deviation" field may specify a deviation duration from the receipt of the fine timing measurement request frame to the transmission of an initial fine timing measurement frame in a response transmitted burst. to the fine timing measurement request frame.

The "Channel" field can specify a specific frequency channel on which a receiving STA requests a sensitive message (eg fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame or fine timing measurement frame) from a recipient dispatch STA. This can also prevent fine timing measurement request message confirmation frames from colliding, or from colliding fine timing measurement frames that are transmitted from multiple sending STAs to a single receiving STA.

[0058] The "Previous RTT Value" field may indicate an RTT value (eg, in units of 0.1 ns), or range calculated from RTT, previously calculated at the receiving STA to the sending STA. For example, the previously calculated RTT value can be calculated based, at least in part, on a recent exchange of messages between the sending and receiving STAs. The recipient send STA can then use the previously calculated RTT value in its own positioning operations.

While the additional fields in the fine timing measurement request frame of FIG.

10B may enable enhanced capabilities, a receiving STA may not necessarily implement these capabilities. Here, the values in the "Trigger" field can be used to specify which features, if any, are being employed. This can allow a recipient dispatch STA to correctly interpret the values in particular fields of a fine timing measurement request message. FIG. 10C is a diagram showing definitions of values in a trigger field in a fine timing measurement request frame (eg, as shown in FIG. 10B) in accordance with one embodiment. For example, a "1" in the "Valid RTT Value" position may indicate that a value in the "Previous RTT Value" field is valid. A value of "1" in the "Valid Deviation" position may indicate that the value in the "Deviation" field is valid. A "1" in the "Valid Burst Period" position may indicate that a value in the "Burst Period" field is valid. A value of "1" in the "Valid Timeout" position may indicate that the value in the "Timeout" field is valid. A value of "1" in the "Min delta T valid" position can indicate that the value in the "Min delta T" field is valid. The sending STA sets a value of "1" in the "Unauthorized" field to 1 when the receiving STA has been rejected multiple times. The value set by the receiving STA can be 0 or 1.

[0060] FIG. 10D is a diagram showing definitions of values in a trigger field in a fine timing measurement request frame (eg, as shown in FIG. 10B) in accordance with one embodiment. The "Burst Frames Valid / Accept" bit can indicate whether a value in the "Burst Frames" field is valid or accepted. The "Deviation Valid / Accept" bit can indicate whether a value in the "Deviation" field is valid or accepted. The "Burst Period Valid / Accept" bit can indicate whether a value in the "Burst Period" field is valid or accepted. The "Valid / Accept Timeout" bit can indicate whether a value in the "Timeout" field is valid or accepted. The "Min delta T valid / accept" bit can indicate that a value in the "Min delta T" field is valid or accepted.

The "Rejected" bit can be used to indicate that a fine timing measurement request message is rejected by a sending STA. A sending STA can use the "Rejected" bit in combination with the "Enable" bit to indicate any number of things to a receiving STA regarding a fine timing measurement request message. For example, setting "Rejected" to one and "Enable" to zero may indicate that the receiving STA has been rejected multiple times. Setting the "Rejected" and "Enable" bits to one may indicate that the receiving STA should retry a duration of a Burst Period later.

[0062] FIGs. 10E and 10G are diagrams showing fields in a hybrid fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame transmitted by a sending STA in response to receiving a fine timing measurement request message from a receiving STA in accordance with an alternative embodiment. In this particular implementation, the values in the "Trigger" and "Targets per Burst" fields may indicate capabilities of the sending STA. For example, the "Frames per Burst" field can indicate a number of frames that the sending STA can transmit in a given burst. The values in the bit positions of the "Trigger" field may indicate capabilities of the sending STA to implement or perform certain functions such as "Deviation", "Min delta T", "Timeout", "Frames per burst", etc. . as set forth in the embodiment of the "Trigger" field shown in FIG. 10B.

[0063] FIG. 10F is a diagram showing fields of a hybrid fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame transmitted by a sending STA in response to receipt of a fine timing measurement request message from a receiving STA in accordance with a alternative embodiment. In a particular implementation, a "Trigger" field in the reserved TOD field can be used by a sending STA to assert control over a fine timing measurement session. Here, a sending STA can use appropriate fields to specify a new "Length", "Min delta T" and / or "Burst Period".

The particular implementation of a hybrid fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame of FIG. 10G excludes the fields "Maximum TOD error", "Maximum TOA error", "TOA" and "TOD", which may not necessarily be of use in a confirmation message transmitted in response to a timing measurement request message. fine. The application of the alternative hybrid fine timing measurement confirmation frames is shown in the message flow diagram of FIG. 10H in the second message transmitted by the sending STA in response to receipt of a fine timing measurement request message received from a receiving STA.

[0065] FIG. 19 shows fields in an example format for a fine timing measurement frame according to an alternative embodiment. As shown, the TOA and TOD fields comprise 48 bits. In a particular implementation, a sending STA can express TOA and TOD as 48-bit expressions in 0.1 nano second increments using a continuous counter. When the continuous counter exceeds a maximum value for a 48-bit expression for TOA or TOD, the counter can "wrap around" and start counting at the minimum value or zero for the 48-bit expression. The additional "TOD non-continuous" field may indicate to a recipient receiving STA that the value provided in the associated field "TOD" is not continuous with a TOD value in a previous frame. This can occur, for example, if a continuous counter in the sending STA is set following the TOD value in the previous frame and before the TOD value in the current fine timing measurement frame. Similarly, the additional "TOA non-continuous" field may indicate to a recipient receiving STA that the value provided in the associated "TOA" field is non-continuous with a TOA value in a previous frame. This can occur, for example, if a continuous counter in the sending STA is adjusted following the TOA value in the previous frame and before the TOA value in the present fine timing measurement frame.

According to one embodiment, an access point used in positioning operations can search for particular client devices on multiple frequency channels. Switching between different channels can be cumbersome for the access point's processing resources. In a particular implementation, an access point may transmit beacon signals with indications as to the presence or absence of client user devices communicating on particular frequency channels. This may allow neighboring access points to receive the beacon signal to avoid searching for user client devices on particular channels if there is a low probability that user client devices will communicate on particular channels.

[0067] In an example implementation, a part of a beacon signal can be formatted with fields as follows:

Length, Channel j, Users j, Channel k, Users k, Channel l Users l, Channel m, Users m.

Here, "Length" indicates a number of channels for which there is an indication to enable a recipient access point to parse the remaining fields. In this particular example, there are indications for four channels: channels j, k, l and m. For each channel there is an indication of a number of users in the particular corresponding channel denoted as Users j, Users k, Users I and Users m.

[0069] FIG. 10I is a diagram illustrating a flow in accordance with an alternative embodiment. In this particular implementation, "drift" in a fine timing measurement request message specifies a duration between the receipt of a fine timing measurement request frame at a sending STA (and transmitted by a receiving STA) and the transmission. of a sensitive fine timing measurement message from the sending STA. This may allow a closer reference of the deviation duration to other transmission times such as, for example, burst transmission times with respect to the receipt of a fine timing measurement request message at a sending STA. Additionally, this particular implementation of a value for a "Min_delta_FTM" or "Min_delta_T" field in a fine timing measurement request frame now specifies a desired or requested minimum time duration from receipt of an acknowledgment message at an STA of sending and transmitting a fine timing measurement message in response to the confirmation message received from the receiving STA.

[0070] FIG. 10J is a diagram illustrating the fields of a fine timing measurement request message in accordance with an alternative embodiment. In this particular implementation, a value for the "Length" field can specify a length of the fine timing measurement request message in bytes. The values for the "Min_delta_FTM" and "Deviation" fields can be considered particularly important or useful, and immediately follow the "Length" field. As such, the "Length" field can specify a truncation of a fine timing measurement request message to exclude the "Burst Period", "Frames Per Burst", and "Timeout" fields, but still include the fields " Min_delta_FTM "and" Deviation ". FIG. 10K is a diagram showing the definitions of a trigger field in a fine timing measurement frame according to the order of the fields set in the alternative implementation of a fine timing measurement request message shown in FIG. 10L. Similarly, FIG. 10L is a diagram showing definitions that include fields in a hybrid fine timing measurement request message confirmation frame, including definitions of a trigger field according to the order of fields established in the alternate implementation of a frame of fine timing measurement request shown in FIG. 10L, according to one embodiment.

[0071] FIG. 10M is a diagram illustrating the fields of a fine timing measurement request message according to one embodiment. Afield Min_delta_FTM can indicate a minimum time between consecutive fine timing measurement frames. A value in the field burst timeout can specify the length of time that a receiving STA (eg, STA2 in FIG. 10N) can be left off channel or idle to conserve power. This value can be expressed as a percentage of a value stated in Burst Period or in units of ms, for example. A value for the FTM1 Timeout can indicate how long a receiving STA (for example, s TA2 in FIG. 10N) has to wait for a first fine timing measurement message to be received after transmission of the delay message. fine timing measurement request. A value in the MCS field can indicate a modulation and coding scheme to provide fine timing measurements. In an example implementation, a higher coding and modulation scheme may indicate a shorter frame that is less robust and more likely to require retransmission. A value for BW can indicate a bandwidth for which fine timing measurement frames are to be transmitted (for example, specifying 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or 160 MHz).

[0072] FIG. 10N is a diagram illustrating a message flow according to one embodiment. Here, a deviation determined by a value in a burst deviation field of the fine timing measurement request message shown in FIG. 10M can be determined from receiving a fine timing measurement request message at a send STA to transmitting an initial fine timing measurement message in a fine timing measurement message burst in response to the request message. fine timing measurement. The receiving STA may also calculate a round trip time based, at least in part, on the exchange of fine timing measurement messages and acknowledgments in a burst as noted above.

[0073] An STA may transmit a fine timing measurement request frame as an individually addressed or broadcast frame. An STA that supports FTM and receives a broadcast fine timing measurement request frame can only send a fine timing measurement response frame if the STA does not accept the parameters included in the fine timing measurement request message.

[0074] An STA that supports fine timing measurement exchanges and receives an individually addressed fine timing measurement request message may respond with a fine timing measurement frame. Upon successful receipt of a new fine timing measurement request frame, the STA may override any fine timing measurement request frames previously received with the new frame. If all sub-elements of fine timing measurement parameters included in the fine timing measurement request message are successfully configured in a sending STA, then the sending STA may include in a fine timing measurement response frame a single fine timing measurement status sub-item indicating success. Upon successful setup, a sending STA may begin transmitting the fine timing measurement frames based, at least in part, on the fine timing measurement request frame parameters. If one or more sub-elements of fine timing measurement parameters are not configured successfully in a sending STA, the sending STA may include in a fine timing measurement response frame a sub-item of fine timing measurement status for each failed sub-item indicating the sub-item ID, status value, and the corresponding sub-item of the fine timing measurement parameter as described below.

[0075] FIG. 10O is a diagram illustrating the fields of a fine timing measurement request message in accordance with one embodiment. Here, a "Dialog Token" field may indicate a non-zero value that is unique to the fine timing measurement request message transmitted between fine timing measurement request messages transmitted to a particular destination MAC address. This may allow an STA to respond to the fine timing measurement request message to include the same non-zero value in a response message to indicate that the response message is responding to the fine timing measurement request message with the value nonzero as its Dialog Token. FTM indication parameters can include multiple fields to indicate how measurements should be obtained. In a particular example implementation, FIG. 10P displays the FTM indication parameters as "Length" fields through "FTM1 Timeout".

The field FTM indication channels may specify desired frequency channel (s) for the transmission of a fine timing measurement message transmitted in the response message to the fine timing measurement request message. This can be implemented as a replacement for the BW field in the fine timing measurement request message of FIG. 10M. The field FTM indication broadcast data rate may indicate a desired data rate for transmitting fine timing measurement messages in response to the fine timing measurement request message.

[0077] The fine timing measurement request messages shown in FIGs. 10P and 10Q include the "Number of Bursts" fields to specify a number of requested bursts of fine timing measurement messages to be provided by a sending STA. FIGs. 10Q and 10R establish actions that can be taken by a receiving STA and a sending STA, respectively, in accordance with a field implementation of the fine timing measurement request message shown in FIGs. 10P and 10S. At block 952, a receiving STA may transmit a fine timing measurement request message to a sending STA comprising at least one field specifying a number of bursts of fine timing measurement messages to be transmitted by the sending STA. in response to the fine timing measurement request message. At block 954, the receiving STA may receive from the sending STA one or more fine timing measurement frames based, at least in part, on the specified number of bursts indicated in the received fine timing measurement request message. block 952.

In block 962, a sending STA may receive a fine timing measurement request message such as a fine timing measurement request message transmitted in block 952 (eg, including at least one field that specifies a number of fine timing measurement message bursts to be transmitted by the sending STA in response to the fine timing measurement request message). At block 964, the sending STA may then transmit at least one fine timing measurement message to the receiving STA in response to receiving a fine timing measurement request message at block 962.

[0079] According to one embodiment. an STA transmitting a fine timing measurement request message to another STA, such as a receiving STA, may be referred to as an "initiating STA". Similarly, an STA that provides fine timing measurement messages in response to a fine timing measurement request message, such as a sending STA, may be referred to as a "responding STA".

[0080] As noted above, an initiating STA can vary and / or adapt the fields in a fine timing measurement request message. FIG. 10S is a diagram illustrating the fields that make up "FTM Indication Parameters" (eg parameters in fields that characterize the delivery of fine timing measurements such as number of bursts, frames per burst, burst time, burst period , Min_delta_FTM, timeout FTM1) in a fine timing measurement request message that follows a "Sub-Element ID" field according to a particular alternative embodiment. The "Sub-Element ID" field may allow an initiating STA to vary and / or adapt fields in a fine timing measurement request message. This may allow a responding STA to receive the fine timing measurement request message to correctly parse the fields in the received fine timing measurement request message. As indicated in Table I below in a particular implementation, a value of "1" for Sub-Element ID may indicate that the FTM Indication parameters should be included. A value of "2" for Sub-Element ID may indicate that FTM indication channels (eg, frequency channels where fine timing measurement messages are requested) are included in the timing measurement request message. fine and that the FTM Indication and FM Indication Broadcast Data Transfer Rate parameters should be excluded. A value of "4" for Sub-Element ID may indicate that FTM Indication Broadcast Data Transfer Rates will be included in the fine timing measurement request message, and that FTM Indication Channels will be excluded. FTM Indication Broadcast Data Transfer Rate. This is summarized in Tables I and II below according to examples individuals.

Table I

Table II

[0081] FIG. 10T is a diagram illustrating the fields that make up a fine timing measurement frame in accordance with one embodiment. As noted above, a value in the "Dialog Token" field may indicate a specific fine timing request message to which the fine timing measurement frame is responding. In the particular implementation of FIG. 10U, a fine timing measurement frame may further include a "Tracking Dialog Token" field that specifies a most recent fine timing measurement request message for which a fine timing measurement frame has been transmitted.

[0082] A value in the FTM Indication Channel field may indicate a frequency channel that is selected to transmit fine timing measurement messages and a value in the FTM Indication Broadcast Data Transfer Rate field may indicate a selected data transfer speed. A value in the "FTM Status" field can indicate the status of a request to which the response message responds. Example values and descriptions for the FTM status field are shown in Table III below.

j

1

1

Table III

[0083] The FTM Status sub-item has four possible status values: Success, Failure, Rejected, and Unable. If an initiating STA receives a fine timing measurement frame with FTM Status indicating something other than Success, the initiating STA may assume that the original fine timing measurement request message was not processed, and that no settings had an effect on the timing. Responding STA. Here, the initiating STA can take an appropriate action based on the returned status value.

[0084] For FTM Status Failure, if the responding STA configured successfully prior to a current fine timing measurement request message and continues to transmit fine timing measurement frames based on those parameters, the responding STA may respond according to the values of the current FTM Parameters sub-items that the STA is using. responding If the responding STA does not have a preconfigured value, the responding STA may respond according to the sub-elements of particular fTm Parameters that the responding STA is capable of supporting. Additionally, the initiating STA can retry the original request or submit an alternate request.

For the FTM Unable State, a responding STA may apply sub-elements of particular FTM Parameters that it is capable of supporting. An initiating STA may then not send another fine timing measurement request message that matches a previous fine timing measurement request message, while the responding STA (for example, implemented as an IEEE 802.11 access point ) is associated with the same set of basic services (BSS). The initiating STA may transmit an alternate fine timing measurement request message.

[0086] For FTM status rejection, a responding STA may incorporate sub-elements of FTM parameters that it is capable of supporting. The initiating STA may then send an alternate fine timing measurement request message.

[0087] An alternative implementation of the FTM status indications is shown in TABLE IV below. Here, a value of "2" in a status field indicates that one or more fields in a fine timing measurement request message should be overridden in the execution of providing fine timing measurement messages in response to the measurement request message. fine timing.

|

I

TABLE IV

[0088] FIG. 10V shows example fields of a fine timing measurement request message confirmation that includes fields specifying a "Transmit Power", "Antenna Gain" and "Antenna ID". The Transmit Power field can specify a transmit power that is being used by a sending STA to transmit fine timing measurement messages as a signed integer, one octet long, and reported in units of dBm. Here, a value - 128, for example, may indicate that the transmit power for transmitting fine timing measurement messages is unknown. The Antenna Gain field can specify a maximum antenna gain in dBi of an antenna used in the sending STA to transmit fine timing measurement messages. The Antenna ID field may specify an identifier of an antenna used in a sending STA in transmitting fine timing measurement messages. A valid range for a specified value in the antenna ID can be from 1 to 254. A value of zero in the antenna ID field can indicate that the antenna identifier is unknown.

[0089] According to one embodiment, it may be desirable for a receiving STA to determine a relative altitude of a sending STA to, for example, evaluate the usefulness of the sending STA in providing measurements for use in positioning operations. . For example, the sending and receiving STAs may comprise barometric pressure sensors. Providing barometric pressure measurements obtained at a sending STA to a receiving STA may allow the receiving STA to approach an altitude of the sending STA relative to the receiving STA. FIG. 17 shows the fields of a fine timing measurement request message confirmation that includes a 34-bit "Pressure" field. FIG. 18 shows a format of said Pressure field according to a particular implementation comprising a 6-bit part specifying a resolution, a second part specifying a fractional part and a third part specifying an integer part. It should be understood, however, that this is merely a sample format for specifying a barometric pressure and that the claimed subject is not limited in this regard.

[0090] As indicated above according to particular implementations, a receiving STA can obtain timestamp values and / or measurements based on timestamp values to calculate RTT, for example. In still other implementations, a receiving STA may share these timestamp values and / or measurements with a sending STA (for example, in a confirmation message transmitted in response to a fine timing measurement message transmitted by the STA of Shipping). FIG. 13 shows fields from a fine timing measurement request message including at least one field indicating a willingness of the receiving STA to share or provide timestamp values and / or measurements obtained with a sending STA (shown as a bit unique in a currently illustrated embodiment). In a particular implementation, an additional event report status indication from a sending STA (for example, in addition to or in place of possible status indications in TABLES III and IV) may indicate a refusal to provide timing measurement messages. fine if the receiving STA indicates in a fine timing measurement request message an unwillingness to share timestamps and / or measurements derived from timestamps.

In particular scenarios, a responding STA may receive conflicting requests for different fine timing measurement request messages (eg, transmitted from different initiating STAs). Here, a responding STA can respond to different conflicting fine timing measurement request messages according to a particular hierarchy, from highest to lowest priority as follows: 1) a fine timing measurement request frame specifically addressed to the ^{responding s} T ^a , 2) a broadcast fine timing measurement request frame. If a responding STA receives a new fine timing measurement request frame with the same or higher priority than a previous fine timing measurement request message, the responding STA may cancel a previous configuration and begin applying new parameters at the last fine timing measurement request message.

[0092] An FTM indication broadcast data rate sub-element included in fine timing measurement request frames may indicate a target data rate at which a responding STA should transmit fine timing measurement frames. . An FTM indication broadcast data rate included in a fine timing measurement request frame may indicate a data rate defined in a set of basic data rates. An Indication Multicast Address field included in the Indication Parameters sub-element of FTM may comprise a locally administered IEEE MAC address by multicast as defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard that is shared across all access points in the same set of extended services (ESS). A responding STA may transmit fine timing measurement frames to the Indication Multicast Address with a set of BSS identifier (BSSID) fields set to the wildcard BSSID. An initiating STA may discard fine timing measurement frames that are not addressed to the Indication Multicast Address field configured for the ESS.

[0093] In a particular implementation, a non-AP STA may terminate the transmission of fine timing measurement frames for any of the following reasons:

to. non-AP STA receives a fine timing measurement request frame from the STA with which it is currently associated that includes an FTM Parameters element with an FTM Indication Parameters sub-element specifying a range of 0;

b. the non-AP STA does not detect any beacon frame belonging to the same ESS that originally configured the non-AP STA, during the period specified by the value of essDetectionInterval included in the FTM Parameters element transmitted in the fine timing measurement request frame received in the STA not AP;

c. non-AP STA disassociates for any reason from the ESS that configured it, including disconnection, or is configured by a different ESS; or

d. In an Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS), the non-AP STA detects that it is no longer connected to the other STA that formed the IBSS.

[0094] FIG. 14 shows fields that can specify fine timing parameters according to the particular implementation of a fine timing measurement request message according to one implementation. Here, an 8-bit field indicates a requested "FTM channel spacing" indicating a desired bandwidth to be used in transmitting fine timing measurement messages in response to the fine timing measurement request message. A larger channel spacing as indicated in the fine timing measurement request message may allow the transmission of corresponding higher precision measurements or higher precision in a fine timing measurement transmitted in response to the measurement request frame. fine timing. An example of 8-bit encoding of a fine timing measurement channel spacing is shown in the table of FIG. 15A in which the bottom row shows the possible values for the "FTM channel spacing" field and the top row shows the corresponding fine timing measurement channel spacing in M Hz. An alternate example of a measurement channel spacing of fine timing is shown in the table of FIG. 15B in which an encoding type can also be specified. For example, channel spacing values 12, 13, and 14 specify 20.0 MHz, but indicate non-HT encoding (for example, for the iEe E 802.11a or 802.11g standard), HT (for example, for the IEEE 802.11n standard) or VHT (for example, for the IEEE 802.11ac standard), respectively. Similarly, channel spacing values 18 and 19 specify 40.0 MHz, but indicate HT and VHT encoding, respectively. Similarly, channel spacing value 20 further specifies 80.0 MHz and VHT coding while channel spacing value 21 specifies 80-80 MHz and VHT coding.

[0095] FIG. 20 shows a format for fields that can be implemented in a frame or message from the first STA to a second STA to advertise a desired configuration in accordance with one embodiment. In a particular implementation, one or more fields of FIG. 20 can be included in a fine timing measurement request frame. In another implementation, one or more fields of FIG. 20 may be included in an initial fine timing measurement message transmitted in response to a fine timing measurement request message. As noted above, the "Length" field can indicate a number of bytes or octets to follow the Length field in a message or frame.

The "Status Indication" field in combination with the "Value" field as implemented in a fine timing measurement frame can provide a responsive result to a fine timing measurement request frame. The "Status Indication" field can have a value as shown in TABLE V below, for example. The field value can occupy the five least significant bits (LSB) of the Status Indication and Value field combination if a value in Status Indication is set to "4".

Table V

[0097] The "Burst Number Exponent" field can occupy the four LSBs of the byte or octet behind the "Status Indication" field. This may indicate that multiple bursts are requested (for example 2x) (for example if this is a fine timing measurement request frame) or allocated (for example if they are included in a fine timing measurement message ). A value of "15" in a Burst Number Exponent field of a fine timing measurement request message may indicate that there is no preference for the initiating STA.

[0098] As noted above, a "Burst timeout" field can indicate a duration time of a burst instance. Possible values of the field burst timeout for a particular non-limiting example are shown in TABLE VI below.

Table VI

As stated above, the "Min_delta_FTM" field can indicate a minimum time between consecutive fine timing measurement frames in a burst of fine timing measurement frames that can be measured from the start of a fine timing measurement frame. until the start of a next frame fine timing measurement. Units can be expressed in 100 ^ seconds and a value of "0" may indicate no preference (for example, if specified by an initiating STA in a fine timing measurement request frame).

[0100] As noted above, the "Burst Deviation" field may indicate a length of time between the receipt of an initial fine timing measurement request frame and the start of an initial burst instance (eg, expressed in units of msec). A value of 0 for burst deviation in a fine timing measurement request message (eg, from an initiating STA) may indicate "as fast as possible". A value of 65535 for burst deviation in a fine timing measurement request message (eg, from an initial STA) may indicate no preference.

[0101] Burst field FTMs can indicate a number of measurements for a burst of fine timing measurements.

[0102] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a mobile device, according to one embodiment. Mobile device 100 (FIG. 1) may comprise one or more features of mobile device 1100 shown in FIG. 11. In certain embodiments, mobile device 1100 may also comprise a wireless transceiver 1121 that is capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals 1123 via wireless antenna 1122 over a wireless communication network. The wireless transceiver 1121 may be connected to the bus 1101 via a wireless transceiver bus interface 1120. The wireless transceiver bus interface 1120 may, in some embodiments, be at least partially integrated with the wireless transceiver 1121. Some modes of operation The embodiment may include multiple wireless transceivers 1121 and wireless antennas 1122 to allow transmission and / or reception of signals in accordance with the corresponding multiple wireless communication standards such as, for example, versions of the IEEE 802.11, CDMA, WCDMa, LTE standard, UMTS, GSM, AMPS, Zigbee, and Bluetooth, just to name a few examples.

[0103] The mobile device 1100 can also comprise an SPS 1155 receiver capable of receiving and acquiring SPS 1159 signals through the SPS 1158 antenna. The SPS 1155 receiver can also process, in whole or in part, the acquired SPS signals 1159 to estimate a location of mobile device 1000. In some alternate embodiments, general purpose processor (s) 1111, memory 1140, DSP (s) 1112, and / or specialized processors (not shown) may also be used to process SPS signals. acquired, in whole or in part, and / or calculate an estimated location of the mobile device 1100, together with the SPS receiver 1155. The storage of SPS or other signals for use in positioning operations can be done in memory 1140 or in the records (not shown).

[0104] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. The mobile device 1100 may comprise the digital signal processor (s) (DSP) 1112 connected to the bus 1101 via a bus interface 1110, the general purpose processor (s) 1111 connected ) to bus 1101 via a bus interface 1110, and memory 1140. The interface Bus 1110 may be integrated with DSP 1112, general purpose processor (s) 1111, and memory 1140. In various embodiments, functions may be performed in response execution of a or more machine-readable instructions stored in memory 1140 such as on a computer-readable storage medium, such as RAM, ROM, FLASH, or disk drive, just to name a few examples. The one or more instructions may be executable by general-purpose processor (s) 1111, specialized processors, or DSP 1112. Memory 1140 may comprise non-transient processor-readable memory and / or computer-readable memory that stores software code. (programming code, instructions, etc.) that is executable by the 1111 processor (s) and / or the 1112 DSP (s) to perform the functions described herein. In a particular implementation, wireless transceiver 1121 may communicate with general-purpose processor (s) 1111 and / or DSP (s) 1112 over bus line 1101 to allow mobile device 1100 to configure itself. as a wireless STA as discussed above. The general purpose processor (s) 1111 and / or the DSP (s) 1112 may execute instructions to execute one or more aspects of processes discussed above in connection with FIGS. 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, 6F, 6G, 6H, 6I, 6J, 6K, 6L, 6M, 9B, 9C, 10Q and 10R.

[0105] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, a user interface 1135 may comprise any one of several devices such as, for example, a speaker, microphone, display device, vibration device, keyboard, touch screen, just to name a few examples. In a particular implementation, user interface 1135 may allow a user to interact with one or more applications hosted on mobile device 1100. For example, user interface devices 1135 may store analog or digital signals in memory 1140 to be further processed by DSP 1112 or general purpose / application processor 1111 in response to user action. Similarly, applications hosted on mobile device 1100 can store analog or digital signals in memory 1140 to present an output signal to a user. In another implementation, mobile device 1100 may optionally include a dedicated audio input / output (I / O) device 1170 comprising, for example, a dedicated speaker, microphone, digital-to-analog circuitry, analog-to-digital circuitry, amplifiers, and / or gain control. However, it should be understood that this is merely one example of how audio I / O can be implemented in a mobile device, and that the claimed subject is not limited in this regard. In another implementation, mobile device 1100 may comprise touch or pressure sensitive touch sensors 1162 on a keyboard or touch screen device.

[0106] Mobile device 1100 may also comprise a dedicated camera device 1164 for capturing still or moving images. The dedicated camera device 1164 may comprise, for example, an image sensor (eg, a charge coupled device or a CMOS imager), lenses, analog to digital circuitry, frame buffers, just to name a few examples. . In one implementation, further processing, conditioning, encoding, or compression of signals representing captured images can be performed in the general applications processor 1111 or the DSP (s) 1112. Alternatively, a dedicated video processor 1168 it can perform conditioning, encoding, compression, or manipulation of signals that represent captured images. Additionally, dedicated video processor 1168 can decode / decompress stored image data for display on a display device (not shown) on mobile device 1100.

[0107] Mobile device 1100 may also comprise sensors 1160 coupled to bus 1101 which may include, for example, inertia sensors and environment sensors. The inertial sensors of the sensors 1160 may comprise, for example, accelerometers (for example, responding collectively to the acceleration of the mobile device 1100 in three dimensions), one or more gyros, or one or more magnetometers (for example, to support one or more magnetometers). more compass apps). The environment sensors of the mobile device 1100 may comprise, for example, temperature sensors, barometric pressure sensors, ambient light sensors, imaging cameras, microphones, just to name a few examples. Sensors 1160 can generate analog or digital signals that can be stored in memory 1140 and processed by DPS or general purpose / application processors 1111 in support of one or more applications such as, for example, applications targeting positioning or navigation operations.

[0108] In a particular implementation, mobile device 1100 may comprise a dedicated modem processor 1166 capable of performing baseband processing of received and downconverted signals on wireless transceiver 1121 or SPS receiver 1155. [0108] Similarly, the dedicated modem processor 1166 can perform baseband processing of the signals that must be upconverted for transmission by the wireless transceiver 1121. In alternative implementations, instead of having a dedicated modem processor, baseband processing can be performed by a general purpose processor or DSP (eg, general purpose / application processor 1111 or DSP 1112). It should be understood, however, that these are merely examples of structures that can perform baseband processing and that the claimed subject is not limited in this regard.

[0109] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example system 1800 that may include one or more configurable devices to implement techniques or processes described above, for example, in connection with FIG. 1. System 1800 may include, for example, a first device 1802, a second device 1804, and a third device 1806, which may be operatively coupled to each other through a communications network. wireless. In one aspect, the first device 1802 may comprise an access point as shown, for example. The second device 1804 can comprise an access point and the third device 1806 can comprise a mobile station or a mobile device, in one aspect. Additionally, in one aspect, devices 1802, 1804, and 1802 may be included in a wireless communication network that may comprise one or more wireless access points, for example. However, the claimed issue is not limited in scope in these respects.

[0110] The first device 1802, the second device 1804, and the third device 1806, as shown in FIG. 12, can be representative of any device, device or machine that can be configured to exchange data over a wireless communication network. By way of example, but not limitation, any of the first device 1802, the second device 1804, or the third device 1806 may include: one or more computing devices or platforms, such as, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop , a workstation, a server device, or the like; one or more personal computing or communication devices or devices, such as, for example, a personal digital assistant, a mobile communication device, or the like; a computer system or associated service provider capability, such as a database or data storage service provider / system, network service provider / system, internet service provider / system or intranet, a portal or search engine service provider / system, a wireless communication service provider / system; or any combination thereof. Any of the first, second, and third devices 1802, 1804, and 1806, respectively, may comprise one or more than one access point or mobile device in accordance with the examples described herein.

[0111] Similarly, a wireless communication network, as shown in FIG. 12, is representative of one or more communication links, processes or configurable resources to support the exchange of data between at least two of the first device 1802, the second device 1804 and the third device 1806. By way of example, but not limitation, A wireless communications network may include wired or wireless communication links, telephone or telecommunications systems, data buses or channels, optical fibers, space or ground vehicle resources, local area networks, wide area networks, intranets, the Internet. , routers or switches, and the like, or any combination thereof. As illustrated, for example, by the dashed window illustrated as partially obscured by third device 1806, there may be additional similar devices operatively coupled to wireless communication network 1808.

[0112] It is recognized that all or part of the various devices and networks shown in FIG. 12, and the processes and procedures as further described herein, may be implemented using or otherwise including hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof.

[0113] Therefore, by way of example, but not limitation, second device 1804 may include at least one processing unit 1820 that is operably coupled to memory 1822 via bus 1828.

[0114] The processing unit 1820 is representative of one or more configurable circuits to perform at least a part of a data calculation process or procedure. By way of example, but not limitation, processing unit 1820 may include one or more processors, controllers, microprocessors, microcontrollers, application-specific integrated circuits, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays, and similar, or any combination thereof.

[0115] Memory 1822 is representative of any data storage mechanism. Memory 1822 can include, for example, main memory 1824 or secondary memory 1826. Main memory 1824 can include, for example, random access memory, read-only memory, and the like. While this example is illustrated as separate from processing unit 1820, it should be understood that all or part of main memory 1824 may be provided within or otherwise co-located / coupled with processing unit 1820. In a particular implementation , memory 1822 and processing unit 1820 may be configured to execute one or more aspects of the process discussed above in connection with FIGS. 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, 6F, 6G, 6H, 6I, 6J, 6K, 6L, 6M, 9B, 9C, 10Q and 10R.

[0116] Secondary memory 1826 may include, for example, the same or similar type of memory as main memory or one or more data storage devices or systems, such as, for example, a disk drive, a disk drive optical, tape drive, solid state memory drive, and so on. In certain implementations, secondary memory 1826 may be operably responsive, or otherwise configurable, for computer-readable medium 1840. Computer-readable medium 1840 may include, for example, any non-transient medium that can carry or make data accessible. , codes, or instructions for one or more of the devices in the 1800 system. The computer-readable medium 1840 may also be referred to as a storage medium.

[0117] The second device 1804 may include, for example, a communication interface 1830 that provides or supports the operative coupling of the second device 1804 to a wireless communication network at least via antenna 1808. By way of example, but not limitation, communication interface 1830 may include a network interface card or device, a modem, a router, a switch, a transceiver, and the like. In a particular implementation, antenna 1808 in combination with communication interface 1830 can be used to implement the transmission and reception of signals in the process described above with reference to FIGs. 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, 6F, 6G, 6H, 6I, 6J, 6K, 6L, 6M, 9B, 9C, 10Q and 10R.

[0118] The second device 1804 may include, for example, an input / output device 1832. The input / output device 1832 is representative of one or more devices or features that can be configured to accept or input human or machine inputs, or one or more devices or features that can be configured to deliver or provide human or machine outputs. By way of example, but not limitation, input / output device 1832 may include an operably configured display, speaker, keyboard, mouse, trackball, touch screen, data port, and the like.

[0119] As used herein, the term "access point" includes any wireless communication station and / or device used to facilitate communication in a wireless communication system, such as a local area network. wireless, although the scope of the claimed subject is not limited in this regard. Likewise, as used herein, the terms "access point" and "wireless transmitter" may be used interchangeably herein. In another aspect, an access point may comprise a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point, for example. Said WLAN may comprise a network compatible and / or compliant with one or more versions of the IEEe 802.11 standard in one aspect, although the scope of the claimed subject is not limited in this respect. A WLAN access point can provide communication between one or more mobile devices and a network such as the Internet, for example.

[0120] As used herein, the term "mobile device" refers to a device that may from time to time have a positional location that changes. Changes in position location can include changes in direction, distance, orientation, etc. as some examples. In particular examples, a mobile device may comprise a cell phone, a wireless communication device, a user equipment, a laptop, another personal communication system (PCS) device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal audio (PAD), a portable navigation device, and / or other portable communication devices. A mobile device may also comprise a processor and / or a computing platform adapted to perform functions controlled by machine-readable instructions.

[0121] The methodologies described herein can be implemented by various means depending on the applications, according to particular examples. For example, such methodologies can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, and / or combinations thereof. In a hardware implementation, for example, a processing unit may be implemented within one or more application-specific integrated circuits ("ASICs"), in digital signal processors ("DSP"), in digital signal processing devices. ("DSPD"), in programmable logic devices ("PLD"), in field programmable gate arrays ("FPGA"), in processors, in controllers, in micro-controllers, in microprocessors, in electronic devices, in other device units designed to perform the functions described herein and / or in combinations thereof.

[0122] Some parts of the detailed description included herein are presented in terms of algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on binary digital signals stored within a memory of a specific apparatus or special purpose computing device or platform. In the context of this particular specification, the term "specific apparatus or the like" includes a general purpose computer once it is programmed to perform particular operations in accordance with the instructions of the program software. Algorithmic descriptions or symbolic representations are examples of techniques used by those of ordinary skill in signal processing or related techniques to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally considered a self-consistent sequence of operations or similar signal processing that lead to a desired result. In this context, operations or processing involve the physical handling of physical quantities. Typically, but not necessarily, these quantities may be in the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwise manipulated. It has proven to be convenient at times, mainly for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, data, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. It should be noted, however, that all of these terms and the like must be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are simply convenient labels. Unless specifically stated otherwise, as is apparent from the discussion herein, it is appreciated that these specification analyzes using terms such as "processing", "computation", "calculation", "determination" or the like refer to actions or processes of a specific device, such as a special-purpose computer, a special-purpose computing device, or a similar special-purpose electronic computing device. In the context of this specification, therefore, a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals, typically represented as electronic or magnetic physical quantities in memories, registers, or other recording devices. information storage, transmission devices, or special-purpose computer display devices or similar special-purpose electronic computing device.

[0123] The wireless communication techniques described herein can be related to various wireless communication networks, such as a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless area network personal (WPAN), etc. The terms "network" and "system" may be interchangeable in this document. A WWAN may be a code division multiple access ("CDMA") network, a time division multiple access ("TDMA") network, a frequency division multiple access ("FDMA") network, a an orthogonal frequency division multiple access network ("OFDMA"), a single carrier frequency division multiple access network ("SC-FDMA"), or any combination of the above networks, and so on. A CDMA network may implement one or more radio access technologies ("RAT") such as cdma2000 and broadband CDMA ("W-CDMA"), to name just a few radio technologies. Here, the cdma2000 can include technologies implemented in accordance with the IS-95, IS-2000 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network can implement the Global System for Mobile Communications ("GSM"), the Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System ("D-AMPS") or some other RAT. GSM and W-CDMA are described in documents from a consortium called the "Third Generation Partnership Project" ("3GPP"). Cdma2000 is described in documents from a consortium called "Third Generation Partnership Project 2" ("3GPP2"). The 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publicly available. 4G Long Term Evolution ("LTE") communications networks can also be implemented in accordance with the claimed subject matter, in one respect. A WLAN can comprise an IEEE 802.11x network, and a WPAN can comprise a Bluetooth network, an IEEE 802.15x, for example. The wireless communication implementations described herein can also be used in connection with any combination of WWAN, WLAN, or WPAN.

[0124] In another aspect, as mentioned above, a wireless access point or transmitter may comprise a femto cell, used to extend cell phone service to a business or home. In such an implementation, one or more mobile devices may communicate with a femto cell via a code division multiple access ("CDMA") cellular communication protocol, for example, and the femto cell may provide the mobile device with access to a network. larger cellular telecommunications network using another broadband network such as the Internet.

[0125] The techniques described herein can be used with an SPS that includes any of several GNSS and / or combinations of GNSS. In addition, such techniques can be used with positioning systems using ground transmitters that act as "pseudolites", or a combination of SVs and such ground transmitters. Terrestrial transmitters can, for example, include terrestrial transmitters that broadcast a PN code or other range code (eg, similar to a GPS or CDMA cellular signal). Such a transmitter may be assigned a unique PN code in order to allow identification by a remote receiver. Ground transmitters can be useful, for example, to increase an SPS in situations where SPS signals from an orbiting SV may not be available, for example in tunnels, mines, buildings, urban canyons or other closed areas. Another implementation of pseudo-satellites is known as radio beacons. As used herein, the term "satellite" is intended to include terrestrial transmitters, acting as pseudo-satellites, equivalents thereof, and possibly other types. The terms "SPS signals" and / or "SV signals", as used herein, are intended to include SPS-type signals from terrestrial transmitters, including terrestrial transmitters that act as pseudo-satellites or pseudo-satellite equivalents.

[0126] The terms "and" and "or" as used herein can include a variety of meanings which will depend, at least in part, on the context in which they are used. Typically, "or", if used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, which is used herein in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C, which is used here in the exclusive sense. Reference throughout this specification to "an example" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the example is included in at least one example of the claimed subject matter. Therefore, the occurrences of the phrase "in an example" or "an example" in various parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same example. Furthermore, the characteristic features, structures or particular characteristics can be combined in one or more examples. Examples described herein may include machines, devices, motors, or apparatus that operate using digital signals. Said signals can comprise electronic signals, optical signals, electromagnetic signals, or any form of energy that provides information between locations.

[0127] Although what are presently considered examples of characteristic features have been illustrated and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various other modifications can be made and substituted by equivalents without departing from the claimed subject matter.

Claims (15)

A method (550) comprising, in a first wireless transceiver device: transmit (552) a fine timing measurement request message to a second wireless transceiver device, the fine timing measurement request message comprising at least one field specifying one or more timing aspects for transmission of a plurality of messages fine timing measurement in a burst of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission from the second wireless transceiver in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message at the second wireless transceiver device, in which a field of the at least one field specifies a minimum time duration between transmission of consecutive fine timing measurement messages of the plurality of fine timing measurement messages in said burst of fine timing measurement messages. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one field includes a field that specifies a time offset for transmission of an initial fine timing measurement message of the plurality of fine timing measurement messages. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one field includes a field that specifies a frequency channel for transmission of the plurality of fine timing measurement messages from the second wireless transceiver device in response to the signal message. fine timing measurement request. The method of claim 1, wherein the fine timing measurement request message further comprises a trigger field defining a plurality of bits, at least one of said bits indicating whether a value in at least one different field of said trigger field is valid or accepted; and preferably wherein said at least one of said bits comprises a bit that indicates whether a value in the at least one field specifying the time deviation for the transmission of an initial fine timing measurement message of said plurality of timing measurement messages fine timing is valid or accepted. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one field includes a field that specifies a data transfer rate at which to broadcast fine timing measurement messages that are requested for transmission in response to the request message. fine timing measurement; or wherein the at least one field includes a field that specifies a length of time during which the first wireless transceiver device may be allowed to disconnect from the channel or suspend; or wherein the at least one field includes a field specifying a requested number of fine timing measurement messages for transmission in said burst of fine timing measurement messages; or wherein the at least one field includes a field that specifies a number of consecutive bursts of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission from said second wireless transceiver device in response to said fine timing measurement request message, and, preferably, wherein a field of the at least one field specifies a requested time period between initial fine timing measurement messages of said consecutive bursts of fine timing measurement messages; or wherein the fine timing measurement request message further comprises a trigger field defining a plurality of bits, at least one of said bits indicating whether a value in at least one other field of said fine timing measurement request message is valid or accepted, and wherein said at least one of said bits comprises a bit indicating whether a value in a field specifying a number of fine timing measurement messages for transmission in a burst of timing measurement messages fina is valid or accepted; or wherein the fine timing measurement request message further comprises a trigger field defining a plurality of bits, at least one of said bits indicating whether a value in at least one other field of said fine timing measurement request message is valid or accepted, and wherein said at least one of said bits comprises a bit that indicates whether a value in the field that specifies the requested time period is valid or accepted. The method of claim 1, wherein a field of the at least one field specifies a maximum time between transmission of the fine timing measurement request message at the first wireless transceiver device and receipt of a confirmation frame from the fine timing measurement request message on the first wireless transceiver device, waiting for the confirmation frame of the fine timing measurement request message is transmitted by the second wireless transceiver device in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message; and preferably wherein the fine timing measurement request message further comprises a trigger field defining a plurality of bits, at least one of said bits indicating whether a value in at least one other field of said fine timing measurement request message is valid or accepted, and wherein said at least one of said bits comprises a bit that indicates whether a value in the at least one field that specifies a maximum time between transmission of the fine timing measurement message and receipt of the message Confirmation of the fine timing request message is valid or accepted. The method of claim 1, wherein a field of the at least one field specifies a number of bursts of fine timing measurement messages to be transmitted by the second wireless transceiver device in response to the measurement request message. fine timing. The method of claim 1, wherein the fine timing measurement request message further comprises at least one field specifying a previously calculated round trip time, RTT or interval in the first wireless transceiver device, being calculated the RTT or interval based, at least in part, on a previous exchange of messages between the first and second wireless transceiver devices; or wherein a field of said at least one field indicates the willingness of the first wireless transceiver device to share timestamps or fine timing measurements derived from timestamps based on fine timing measurement messages received from the second wireless transceiver device. . The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a confirmation message of the fine timing measurement request message transmitted by said second wireless transceiver device in response to receiving said fine timing measurement request message, the confirmation message of the timing measurement request message comprising fine at least one field indicating a barometric pressure measured at a location of the second wireless transceiver device; and preferably wherein the at least one field in said confirmation message of the fine timing measurement request message comprises a predetermined number of bits specifying a pressure resolution part, a predetermined number of bits specifying a pressure fraction and a default number of bits that specifies an integer part. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a fine timing measurement message transmitted by said second wireless transceiver device in response to receiving said fine timing measurement request message comprising at least a first field specifying an arrival time of said measurement request message fine timing in said second wireless transceiver device and the second field specifying an output time of said fine timing measurement message from said second wireless transceiver device, wherein the values specified in said first and second fields are expressed as a fixed bit length value, and wherein the fine timing measurement message further comprises at least one field indicating that a value specified in said first or second field is discontinuous with corresponding values in a previously transmitted fine timing measurement message; and preferably wherein said values in said first and second field are determined in accordance with a fixed bit counter, and wherein the values specified in said first or second field are indicated as discontinuous if the counter exceeds a maximum value and begins counting at a minimum value. 11. A first wireless transceiver device (100), comprising: means for transmitting (1121, 1123) a fine timing measurement request message to a second wireless transceiver device, the fine timing measurement request message comprising at least one field specifying one or more timing aspects for the transmission of a plurality of fine timing measurement messages in a burst of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission from the second wireless transceiver in response to receipt of the fine timing measurement request message at the second wireless transceiver device, in wherein a field of the at least one field specifies a minimum time duration between transmission of consecutive fine timing measurement messages of the plurality of fine timing measurement messages in said burst of fine timing measurement messages; Y means for receiving (1121, 1123) from said second transceiver device one or more fine timing measurement request messages transmitted based, at least in part, on said at least one field. 12. A method (560) comprising, in a first wireless transceiver device: receiving (564) a fine timing measurement request message from a second wireless transceiver device, the fine timing measurement request message comprising at least one field specifying one or more timing aspects for transmission of a plurality of messages fine timing measurement in a burst of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission; Y in response to receipt of said fine timing measurement request message, transmitting (566) one or more bursts of fine timing measurement messages to said second wireless transceiver device based, at least in part, on said at least one field, wherein transmitting the one or more bursts of fine timing measurement messages further comprises maintaining a minimum duration of time between transmission of consecutive fine timing measurement messages in said burst based, at least in part, on a field of the at least one field. The method of claim 12, wherein transmitting the one or more bursts of fine timing measurement messages further comprises transmitting an initial fine timing measurement message of the plurality of fine timing measurement messages at a deviation of time based, at least in part, on one field of the at least one field; or wherein transmitting the one or more fine timing measurement message bursts further comprises broadcasting the one or more fine timing measurement message bursts at a data transfer rate based, at least in part, on a field of the at least one field; or wherein transmitting the one or more fine timing measurement message bursts further comprises transmitting a number of fine timing measurement messages for transmission in said burst based, at least in part, on a field of the at least one field ; or wherein transmitting the one or more bursts of fine timing measurement messages further comprises transmitting a number of consecutive bursts of fine timing measurement messages based, at least in part, on one field of the at least one field; or wherein transmitting the one or more bursts of fine timing measurement messages further comprises transmitting consecutive bursts of fine timing measurement messages while maintaining a period of time between initial fine timing measurement messages of consecutive bursts based on, least in part, to one field of the at least one field; or wherein transmitting the one or more fine timing measurement message bursts further comprises transmitting a number of fine timing measurement message bursts based, at least in part, on one field of the at least one field. 14. A non-transient storage medium comprising machine-readable instructions stored therein that are executable by a special purpose computing apparatus of a first wireless transceiver device to carry out the method of claims 1 to 10 or 12 or 13 . 15. A first wireless transceiver device (100), comprising: means for receiving (1121, 1123) a fine timing measurement request message from a second wireless transceiver device, the fine timing measurement request message comprising at least one field specifying one or more timing aspects for the transmission of a plurality of fine timing measurement messages in a burst of fine timing measurement messages requested for transmission; Y means for transmitting (1121, 1123) one or more bursts of fine timing measurement messages to said second wireless transceiver device in response to receipt of said fine timing measurement request message based, at least in part, on said at least one field, wherein transmitting the one or more fine timing measurement message bursts further comprises maintaining a minimum duration of time between transmission of consecutive fine timing measurement messages in said burst based, at least in part, on one field of the at least one field.